Typewriter improvement



July 24, 1962 v. w. WEAVER TYPEWRITER IMPROVEMENT Filed NOV. 28, 1960This shows a normal line of typing in IBM Boldface Number 1.

This is doubleboldface with the special attachment.

A MORE EXAGGERATED VERSION INVENTOR Vance W. Weaver M M ATTORNEY3,045,797 Patented July 24, 1962 3,045,797 TYPEWRITER IMPROVEMENT VanceW. Weaver, New York, N.Y., assignor to Vance Weaver Composition, Inc.,New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 28, 1960, Ser. No.72,159 15 Claims. (Cl. 197-81) This invention relates in general totypewriters and more particularly to a device for altering the positionof the type basket in both the normal and the shift positions.

The invention has for an object the provision of means wherebybold-faced characters may be simply and easily typed on standard manualor electric typewriters.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a purelymechanical device which will enable a typist with only ordinary typingskills to produce uniform bold face typing simply and easily.

The invention has for a further object the provision of means wherebytyped characters can be removed vertically from the normal alignment bya small fraction of an inch, so that a character struck twice, once withnormal alignment and once with slightly vertically removed alignment,will produce a bold-faced character.

Other objects of this invention will become clear to those skilled inthe art, in the course of the following specification.

The utility of the ordinary typewriter has been hampered, from itsinception, by the availability of only one type face in lower and uppercase characters. While this has not been a serious defect in ordinarybusiness usage of the machine, this limitation has been more noticeablein specialized applications. In particular, the use of a typewriter inprinting composition applications, called cold-type composition andnormally associated with photo-offset printing, has suffered from thelack of multiple-type-face machines. A large number of devices has beendeveloped, however, to increase the flexibility of a typewriter in thisapplication. Typewriters have been developed with more-or-less readilyinterchangeable type faces, machines have been developed which canjustify a typewritten line, special ribbons for use in composition workare available, and so forth. The main problem with present multi-typemachines, line justification and similar devices is that they are alluncommonly expensive, and require a high degree of skill on the part ofthe operator. As a result of their expense, they can only beeconomically employed on copy which makes full use of theiradvantagescopy which requires multiple and intricate changes of typeface on each and every page. This has no effect on the vast majority ofcold-type composition work, which is straight copy, broken up only byoccasional bold-faced head-s or sub-heads. The desirability of anotherwise standard typewriter which could type both a body type and abold-faced type has long been recognized. Such desirability is obviouswhen it is considered that without such a machine, it is necessary toleave an exact amount of space for each head and subhead in the typedcopy, type these on a machine equipped with the appropriate type face,and thereafter strip them into the original copy.

Two methods have been previously devised for circumventing this ungainlyprocedure, one involving a high degree of skill on the part of theoperator and generally producing unsatisfactory results, and the otherinvolving a complex and expensive mechanical system, the results ofwhich are also unsatisfactory for quality oifset printmg.

The first method is an outgrowth of the common fact that if a letter isstruck-over once or twice, it will appear darker in the typed copy,albeit not with anywhere near the characteristic heaviness ofconventional bold-faced type. Skillful compositiors, however, conceivedthat if the copy were rotated slightly on the platen of the typewriterbefore striking over, all non-vertical lines in a character would bethickened by the amount of rotation, thus more nearly approximating abold-face character. While this method can produce an entirelysatisfactory bold-face character if perfectly and uniformly done, inpractice it is rarely so. This is due to the fact that the platen mustbe revolved an exact distance each time, and this adjustment dependsentirely upon the skill of the operator. Variations result in bothuneven weight to the resulting typed characters and poor alignment ofthe typed line. This is especially noticeable, for example, when severallines are to be bold-faced, as the degree of adjustment of the platen,which must be disconnected from its normal positioning mechanism, tendsto lessen by a minute amount with the typing of each character,resulting in the gradual lessening of boldness which is very noticeablewhen the line is looked at as a whole. The careful adjustment necessaryand the frequent unsatisfactory results which necessitate retyping of aline combine to make this operation so time-consuming as to amount to asubstantial portion of the total expense of typing what is generallyregarded as easy copy.

The second method, recently put into commercial production, is theprovision in the typewriter of a cloth ribbon in addition to the carbonpaper ribbon normally used for body type. When bold-faced typing isdesired, an adjustment is made which interposes the cloth ribbon betweenthe paper ribbon and the type striker bar as the imprint is made. Thisproduces a substantially heavier, if less sharply defined, image than isproduced by the paper ribbon alone. This system has two disadvantages,the first being the obvious expense of a multiple-ribbon machine, withthe attendant elaborate mechanical system for its interposition in thetyping position when bold-faced typing is desired. The seconddisadvantage is that any soft ribbon of this type is bound to produce asofter imagethat is, one which is less clear than normal body type,which has a certain degree of fuzziness, and which shows a markedtendency to smudge. If the first of these disadvantages can beoverlooked, the second will be of relatively minor importance forgeneral ofiice usage such as the typing of reports and similar documentswhere bold face is desirable, but the clarity of typed photo copy is ofprime importance in all cold type composition work, and in thisapplication such a defect will prove fatal, unless the quality of theprinting is of essentially no concern.

The improvement comprising my present invention is grounded in therecognition of the following facts: (a) The hand-adjustment method ofstrike-over typing, described heretofore, produces an entirelysatisfactory bold-faced character if done correctly; (b) a mechanicaldevice which would substitute an automatic adjustment for the erratichand adjustment of the platen would overcome this defect but would beboth complicated and expensive. I have discovered, however, that thetype basket, which must be movable to provide for the shift from lowercase to capital letters, may be readily adapted to provide the sameadjustment in an extremely simple manner.

Briefly, one embodiment of my invention comprises an arm or knob whichis afiixed to the shift-stop screw controlling the height of the typebasket relative to the platen of the machine. This arm, when connectedthrough appropriate mechanical linkage, enables the operator of themachine to rotate the screw through an angle of the proper number ofdegrees, relative to the pitch of the screw, to

effect an upward displacement of the basket. Where two adjustment screwscontrol the height of the type basket relative to the platen, theadjustment must be performed simultaneously on both screws, but again,through appropriate mechanical linkage this can be performed by theoperator with a single lever conveniently located adjacent to thekeyboard of the machine. When this displacement of the type basket hasbeen accomplishedit generally amounts to approximately one hundredth ofan inchthe operator can then retype the identical material over theoriginal typed characters and produce bold-faced characters in whichevery non-vertical line of the characters involved is thickened by theamount of vertical displacement. The adjustment involved is entirelymechanical and in no way depends on the skill of the operator, therebyinsuring uniformity of the bold-faced characters. Thus, operators havingonly normal typing skills may be employed, a given piece of copy will beentirely uniform whether one or several operators have worked on it, andwhether one or several different machines have been used. In addition tothe typing of straight copy with bold-faced heads and sub-heads, atypewriter employing my invention will find application in the typing ofmathematical symbols which are often bold-faced, and the verticaldisplacement would be useful in the typing of super-superscripts andsub-subscripts, now common in technical literature, as well asdouble-underlines used in accounting practice.

It is fully realized that all typewriters are designed so that the typedies, both lower case and capitals, conform to the curved surface of thecopy paper as it is stretched over the cylindrical platen at the pointof impact, and that displacement of the type basket in theaforementioned manner tends to impair this alignment. However, it hasbeen found that with the magnitude of the adjustment presently involved,approximately one hundredth of an inch, that this mis-alignment of typeface to platen is negligible and can be disregarded.

It is believed that a more complete understanding will be had by thefollowing detailed explanation of a single embodiment of my invention,taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and in which FIG. 1is a simplified sectional side view of a typewriter, showing therelation of various parts of concern to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the shift-stop screw as modified inaccordance with one embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the leverarrangement which may be used to actuate the invention;

FIG. 4 is a different embodiment of my invention, involving a modifiedshift-stop plate; and

FIG. 5 is a graphic example of the typographic variations capable ofbeing produced by my invention, and comprises a normal typed line, adouble bold face line, and a more exaggerated double bold face line.

FIGURES 2, 3, and 4 show, in simplified form, the mechanism of thetypewriter which was used to type the sample lines shown in FIGURE 5. Itis to be specifically understood, however, that this represents only twoembodiments of my invention as applied to one particular typewriter, andthis is in no sense to limit the scope of my invention to otherembodiments on other typewriters, or to limit the scope of the appendedclaims to such other embodiments.

With reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, the normal operation of thetypewriter may be described as follows: the platen 1 is rotatablymounted on the typewriter frame 2, to which the shift-stop plate 6 isrigidly attached. The type basket, comprising the type bars 4 (only oneshown) with type dies for lower case 11 and upper case 12 characters ispivotally mounted 5 to the type carrier 3, which is usually a machinedcasting. The type basket is mounted independently of the typewriterframe 2 and is vertically movable from the normal position to the shiftposition by depression of the shift key (not shown). The limits ofvertical travel of the type carrier in going from the normal to theshift position, and vice versa are determined by the shift-stop screw 8,which is threadedly engaged with the type carrier 3, and secured with alock nut 14. Shift-stop screw 8 passes freely through a hole 7 in theshift-stop plate 6, and is equipped with an upper shift-stop contact 9and a lower shift-stop contact 10. Thus, the type carrier 3 is caused tomove vertically between the limits set by the shift-stop contacts 9 and10 with plate 6, contact with the upper shift-stop contact 9 positioningthe type bar 4 for typing capital letters, and contact with the lowershift-stop contact 10 positioning the type bar 4 for typing lower caseletters. When the appropriate key on the keyboard of the typewriter (notshown) is actuated, type bar 4 pivots at its mounting 5, moving the typedie 11 or 12 up to the point of contact 13 on the platen 1. As may bereadily seen, the turning of shift-stop screw 8 counterclockwise withinthe type carrier 3 will have the effect of raising the shift-stopcontacts 9 and 10 in relation to the shift-stop plate 6, thus raisingthe entire type basket with relation to the normal point of contact 13on the platen 1. For example, on one typewriter it has been found thatthe pitch of the threads on the shift-stop screw 8 is approximately0.045 inch, so that revolution of the shift-stop screw of from 60 to issufficient to vertically offset the type basket and type dies byapproximately one-hundredth of an inch, which is sufficient to produce,upon the striking over of a character typed before turning theshift-stop screw, a doublebold face character of the quality shown inthe second and third lines of FIGURE 5. The outer limit of displacementis, of course, the point where a double image is produced, that is,where displacement exceeds the thickness of any non-vertical line. Theterm approximately one hundredth of an inch is understood to just fallshort of this limit.

The function of the shift-stop screw in my invention will be morereadily understood by referring to FIGURE 2, which shows a detailed viewof this piece. As can be readily seen, in going from the normal to theshift position, the type basket, the type carrier 3, and the shiftstopscrew 8 attached thereto will travel through the distance e, which isdetermined by the positions of the upper and lower shift-stop contacts 9and 10 on the shiftstop screw 8. The lower shift-stop contact 10 isnormally attached to the bottom of the shift-stop screw 8 while theupper shift-stop contact is secured to the shift-stop screw 8 at theproper point by means of lock nuts 15. It is to be emphasized that inemploying my invention neither the upper or lower shift-stop contactsare moved from their normal positions on the shift-stop screw; that is,the distance e will at all times be the same. This insures that upperand lower case characters will always be in perfect alignment on thetyped copy. Rather, this embodiment of my invention is effected byturning the shiftstop screw 8 within its mounting on the type carrier 3,thereby changing the relative position of the shift-stop contacts 9 and10 to the shift-stop plate 6. This insures that both upper and lowercase characters will be offset by the exact same distance, and in thesame direction. By choosing to rotate the shift-stop screw 8 in acounterclockwise direction, the operator produces a second typing higherthan the first, which will preserve perfect alignment of the bold-facedand lightfaccd characters in the typed line.

In practice, this embodiment of my invention is effected by firstremoving the lock nut 14 so that the shift-stop screw may rotate freelywithin its threaded mounting in type carrier 3. A simple embodiment ofthe invention comprises rigidly attaching a knurled knob to the top ofthe shift-stop screw by means of a set screw and providing a suitablemark or pointer on the knob and calibrations on an adjacent portion ofthe typewriter so that it may be turned from the normal setting to theboldface setting. The lock nut should be replaced by a spider or othertensioning device 19 which, while allowing the shift-stop screw to beturned, will prevent accidental turning due to motion of the typebasket, vibration, etc.

A preferred embodiment of my invention is shown in FIGURE 3. In thisembodiment an arm 17 is rigidly attached to the bottom of the shift-stopscrew 8, said arm extending toward the front of the typewriter. At anypoint along the length of the arm 17 a track 16 is positioned so as toslidably engage the arm. Track 16 is attached in any suitable manner tothe type basket so as to move therewith from normal to shift positions.The track 16 has two or more slots 18 which will rigidly hold the arm 17in two or more calibrated positions. The arm 17 is preferablyconstructed of beryllium copper, spring steel, or other material whichwill hold enough tension to snap into the slots 18. One slot ispositioned for normal typing, one for boldface typing and, if desired,an intermediate position between the two can be provided. The arm 17 maybe extended to the front of the typewriter so as to be convenient to theoperator.

A further embodiment of my invention involves modification of theshift-stop plate 6 rather than the shift-stop screw 8, and isillustrated in FIGURE 4. The same end result as described in connectionwith previous embodiments is here brought about by employing an offset,sliding shift-stop plate 6 which, at different positions, presentssurfaces at varying heights to the shift-stop contacts 9 and 10. In thisembodiment, the plate 6 is provided with two longitudinal slots, theextremities of which are shown at 21 and 22. The plate is mounted on thetypewriter frame 2 by means of a bolt, rivet, or other suitable fastener23 upon which'suitable tensioning adjustments can be made so that theplate will firmly but slidably engage the typewriter frame. Slot 22 islarge enough so that the shift-stop screw 8 may pass freelytherethrough, and this portion of the plate is offset on both sides 24at one or more places (two shown) so that surfaces of varying height arepresented to the shiftstop contacts 9 and 10. The forward extremity ofthe shift-stop plate is connected by a shaft 25 or other suitableconnecting means to the front of the typewriter 27, which shaft passestherethrough and terminates in a suitable knob or handle 28. There isenough give in the shaft 25 so that it may readily be drawn through theaperture in the front of the typewriter 27 but will at the same time besecured when at the positions indicated by notches 26. In operation,normal typing is achieved with the mechanism pushed all the way in tothe extreme notch, thus presenting the lowest surface to the shift-stopcontacts 9 and 10, typing a line such as is shown at the top of FIGURE5. Pulling the knob out'to the middle notch presents the middle surfaceto the shift stop contacts, and striking over a line with thisarrangement would produce typing resembling the middle line of FIG- URE5, and pulling the knob all the way out would produce the moreexaggerated version shown at the bottom of FIGURE when struck over. Asingle offset in the shift-stop plate would advantageously be ofapproximately one hundredth of an inch, thereby producing a strongbold-faced appearance when struck over; with two offsets as shown inFIGURE 4, having the first surface oifset 0.008 in. and the second 0.012in. will produce the effects shown in FIGURE 5 on a typewriter with atypeface similar to that shown. Naturally, the particular adjustmentnecessary will vary with the typeface used and with the particulareffect desired.

This embodiment of the invention is advantageous in that it involves nomodification of the shift-stop screw, and simply involves thereplacement of a standard shiftstop plate with the modified versiondescribed.

It is to be noted that some typewriters have two shiftstop mechanisms,one being located at either side of the type basket. In this casemodifications of the type de scribed must be employed with eachmechanism in order to practice the present invention. It is also to benoted that other typewriters have a single shift-stop mechanism locatedbeneath the type basket; in all cases the principle of the invention isthe same, the means employed for changing the position of the shift-stopcontacts, or their equivalent, or altering the shift-stop plate, or itsequivalent, being changed to suit any individual typewriter. Other typesof actuating mechanisms will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart, and might employ such devices as flexible shafts or an electriccircuit with a switch on the keyboard.

Having thus described the subject matter of my invention, what it isdesired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a process for the production of bold-faced typing on a typewriterhaving a standard type face mounted in a conventional type basket, theimprovement comprising typing a character, vertically displacing saidtype basket by approximately one hundredth of an inch in a regulatedmanner, and striking over said character with said type basket in saidvertically displaced position.

2. In a process for the production of bold-faced typing on a typewriterhaving a type basket movable to operative regular and shift positionsfor the typing of lower and upper case characters, respectively, saidpositions being determined by coaction of stops on a shift stop screwmounted on said type basket with the surfaces of an independentlymounted shift-stop plate, the improvement comprising typing a characterwith said type basket in an operative position, vertically displacingsaid type basket by approximately one hundredth of an inch in aregulated manner, and striking over said character with said type basketin said vertically displaced position.

3. Process as claimed in claim 2, wherein said vertical displacement isregulated by rotating said shift stop screw within said mounting,thereby altering the position of said type basket relative to saidindependently mounted shift stop plate in each of said regular and shiftpositions.

4. Process as claimed in claim 3, wherein said rotation of said screw iseffected by electrical actuating means engaging said screw.

5. Process as claimed in claim 3, wherein said rotation of said screw iseffected by mechanical actuating means engaging said screw.

6. Process as claimed in claim 3, wherein said rotation of said screw iscounterclockwise and said vertical displacement is an upwarddisplacement.

7. Process as claimed in claim 2, wherein said vertical displacement isregulated by displacement of said shift stop plate relative to saidstops, thereby displacing the position of said type basket in each ofsaid regular and shift positions.

8. Process as claimed in claim 7, wherein said displacement of saidshift stop plate is parallel to said stops, said plate having aplurality of pairs of parallel upper and lower surfaces, all but one ofwhich pairs are vertically offset, and only one of which pairs coactswith said stops in any given position.

9. Process as claimed in claim 8, wherein said vertically offset pairsof surfaces are adapted to produce, upon coacting with said stops, anupward vertical displacement of said type basket.

10. A device for effecting vertical displacement of the type basket in atypewriter comprising shaft means attachable to the shift stop screw ofsaid typewriter, said means capable of rotating said screw, andcalibrated means defining preselected operative positions for said shaftmeans, whereby said shift stop screw may be rotated to said operativepositions.

11. A device for use in a typewriter comprising arm means attachable tothe shift stop screw of said type-. writer, and track means attachableto the type basket of said typewriter, said track means coacting withsaid arm means so as to provide a plurality of preselected operativepositions for securing said arm means, whereby said shift stop screw maybe rotated to said operative positions.

12. A device for use in a typewriter comprising a shift stop plate, saidplate having a plurality of pairs of parallel upper and lower surfaces,all but one of said pairs being vertically offset and the total of saidvertical offset not exceeding approximately one hundredth of an inch andmeans for effecting the displacement of said plate in a directionparallel to said vertically offset surfaces.

13. In a typewriter having a type basket movable to regular and shiftpositions for the typing of lower case and capital characters,respectively, said positions being determined by coaction of stops on ashift stop screw mounted on said type basket with the surfaces of anindependently mounted shift stop plate, an improvement enabling thetyping of bold-faced characters, said improvement comprising, incombination, means for effecting the rotation of said shift stop screwwhereby said type basket may be vertically displaced, and calibratedmeans for measuring the amount of said displacement so that said typebasket may be so displaced by approximately one hundredth of an inch Ain both regular and shift positions.

14. In a typewriter having a type basket movable to regular and shiftpositions for the typing of lower case and capital characters,respectively, said positions being determined by coaction of stops on ashift stop screw mounted on said type basket with the surfaces of anindependently mounted shift stop plate, an improvement enabling thetyping of bold-faced characters, said improvement comprising, incombination, an arm mounted on said screw, said arm being capable ofeffecting the rotation of said screw whereby said type basket may bevertically displaced, and calibrated means for measuring the rotation ofsaid arm and the consequent displacement of said type basket so thatsaid type basket is displaced by approximately one hundredth of an inchin both the regular and shift positions, so that a character typed oncewith said type basket in the normal position and struck over with saidtype basket in said vertically displaced position acquires a bold-facedappearance.

15. In a typewriter having a type basket movable to regular and shiftpositions for the typing of lower and upper case characters,respectively, said positions being determined by coaction of stops on ashift stop screw mounted on said type basket with the surfaces of anindependently mounted shift-stop plate, an improvement enabling thetyping of bold faced characters, said improvement comprising, incombination, a plurality of parallel pairs of upper and lower surfaceson said shift stop plate, all but one of said pairs being verticallyoffset, the total vertical offset not exceeding the maximum thickness ofany non-vertical line in any of said characters, means for effecting thedisplacement of said shift stop plate whereby successive pairs of saidsurfaces may be brought into an operative position relative to saidstops, and means for securing said surfaces in said operative position,whereby the position of said stops and said type basket is verticallydisplaced, so that a character typed once with said type basket in thenormal position and struck over with said type basket in a verticallydisplaced position acquires a bold faced appearance.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,202,094 Ordonez Oct. 24, 1916 1,945,097 Thompson et al Jan. 30, 19342,544,998 Kissell Mar. 13, 1951

